Financial Crime

2nd September 2019

Duterte to consider Xi request to ban online casinos

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will study the possibility of winding down the country’s booming offshore gambling industry after Chinese President Xi Jinping raised the subject at summit meeting in Beijing on Thursday. Known as Philippine Online Gaming Operators, or Pogos, the industry is mainly aimed at China, where gambling is… Read More

30th August 2019

Privacy fears slow spread of UK-style data-sharing to combat money laundering

European banks are ramping up spending on the fight against financial crime, after a wave of money-laundering scandals on the continent. However, industry insiders betray little optimism about the impact it will have on crime, let alone on banks’ reputations. Rob Wainwright, a former head of Europol now working at… Read More

26th August 2019

Boris Johnson’s Free Port Dreams Face a Luxembourg Reality

In Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s post-Brexit vision of a dynamic economy unshackled from the European Union, depressed British port cities will come roaring back to life as tax-exempt free ports. A concrete bunker on the edge of Luxembourg’s airport provides a useful reality check. There, on a side road flanked… Read More

22nd August 2019

Crown signals retreat from tour partners after ‘junkets’ scandal

Australian casino giant, Crown Resorts, has signalled it may reduce its reliance on Chinese “junket” operators as multiple investigations begin probing revelations it used recruiting firms connected to drug runners and other suspected criminals to lure cashed-up foreign gamblers. Crown on Wednesday also defended its due diligence and oversight… Read More

14th August 2019

Western Companies in Hong Kong Activate Contingency Plans as Turmoil Spreads

Western companies with large operations in Hong Kong are activating plans for employees to work remotely, and considering how to respond to a variety of possible scenarios, as protests and police actions in the city become more widespread and unpredictable. On Tuesday, as protesters disrupted Hong Kong’s airport… Read More

7th August 2019

HSBC agrees to 300 mln euro settlement of Belgian tax fraud case: prosecutors

HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm has agreed to pay nearly 300 million euros ($336 million) to settle a tax fraud case in Belgium, Belgian prosecutors said on Tuesday, the latest blow for the Alpine state’s banking sector from the EU. The settlement comes after a French court in February ordered… Read More

31st July 2019

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Cousin Draws Scrutiny of Australian Authorities

Australian law-enforcement and intelligence agencies are scrutinizing the activities of one of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s cousins as part of broad probes of organized crime, money laundering and alleged Chinese influence-peddling, according to Australian officials. Among other things, police are looking into the alleged 2017 use by the cousin, Ming… Read More

25th July 2019

Malta’s anti-money laundering regime fails final Moneyval review

Malta’s anti-money laundering regime has failed a review by international experts and the island now has a year to get its house in order or face potential blacklisting procedures. Monitoring body Moneyval gave Malta just over a year to address a series of shortcomings in its anti-money laundering efforts following… Read More

16th July 2019

Sour note: Sistine Chapel Choir director resigns after fraud allegations

The director of the Sistine Chapel Choir, which has provided the musical backdrop to papal events for centuries, has resigned following allegations of fraud and embezzlement. Monsignor Massimo Palombella has “concluded his service” after Pope Francis approved his request to end his tenure, the Vatican said in a statement on… Read More

15th July 2019

After U.S. Money-Laundering Probe, Latvian Leader Vows a Cleanup

After a U.S. money-laundering probe rocked Latvia’s economy, sending one of its largest banks belly up, the Baltic nation’s U.S.-born leader is trying to convince Washington and business leaders that he’s cleaning up his country’s financial system for good. In meetings this week with top investors and U.S. policy makers,… Read More